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How Do You Evaluate Strings?
- Thread starter DianaBass
- Start date
Some strings also have to break in to get a true feel. Since you have three basses, and of course some strings tend to pair better with different basses for some, I say read a lot on here and other forums related to bass on strings and watch many videos on it. For example flats on my Ibanez Mikro was for fun to wear them out but I enjoyed the sound and feel of them on my Squier Jazz way more. I mostly use flats because I like that feel and play jazz and Salsa. But on my Ibanez I switch to my DR Sunbeams for metal and have pairs of D'addario as well as backups. In the end it's up to you and all the advice so far on here is very good! This is all just my 2 cents.
I always used flats - many PBasses, mustang bass, two Hofners. Then I bought a jazz bass a few years ago. It arrived with rounds on it. I haven’t changed the strings because they feel great and sound great (I have no idea who made the strings). I think I should have experimented with rounds a long, long time ago.
I think you are putting waaaaaay to much credit on the strings for the difference in tones.
Those are 3 very different basses with very different pickups. Etc.
Put the same strings on all 3, and your assesment on tones of the 3 basses wil be the same.
If you notice them they are the wrong strings. ... Everything on your instrument should be there to make your playing easier and more natural. ...
Get to know the FretNation.com site. Jason has a built a great resource for bass players, and he knows strings. Fast, free, shipping, rewards points, frequent sales and other perks. He can and will answer you questions and help you get where you want to be.
Look for strings you like the feel of. Does stainless chew up you fingers, or feel sticky? Do you like a looser, more flexible feel? Do you play with a light touch, or a heavy hand? Super low action?
Don’t confuse heavy gauge strings with bigger sound, it just doesn’t work like that.
You should absolutely be doing your own setup and string changes. Check out Sheldon Dingwall’s step by step set up videos on YouTube. Only you can dial in what you want for your playing style. Plus you’ll save a ton of money.
I try to get all my basses to set up and feel very close to the same. This doesn’t mean they sound the same at all.
For go to sets, I’ll have one bass set up with TI jazz flats (ignore the price, just skip to the good flats) and DR Pure Blues .040 VW for rounds for the rest. D’Addario XL’s are a great middle of the road, affordable nickel round set to try. They come in .035. GHS Boomers also have a .035 set. Go light, and work you way to what you like.
It’s going to take some time and money, but this is a huge part of your journey. Most basses come with just okay strings. The first thing I do is try out a new bass, throw away the strings and set up with the Pure Blues.
Look for strings you like the feel of. Does stainless chew up you fingers, or feel sticky? Do you like a looser, more flexible feel? Do you play with a light touch, or a heavy hand? Super low action?
Don’t confuse heavy gauge strings with bigger sound, it just doesn’t work like that.
You should absolutely be doing your own setup and string changes. Check out Sheldon Dingwall’s step by step set up videos on YouTube. Only you can dial in what you want for your playing style. Plus you’ll save a ton of money.
I try to get all my basses to set up and feel very close to the same. This doesn’t mean they sound the same at all.
For go to sets, I’ll have one bass set up with TI jazz flats (ignore the price, just skip to the good flats) and DR Pure Blues .040 VW for rounds for the rest. D’Addario XL’s are a great middle of the road, affordable nickel round set to try. They come in .035. GHS Boomers also have a .035 set. Go light, and work you way to what you like.
It’s going to take some time and money, but this is a huge part of your journey. Most basses come with just okay strings. The first thing I do is try out a new bass, throw away the strings and set up with the Pure Blues.
I'll +1 what others have said in that the old fashioned "experience is the best teacher" credo of trying out all kinds of strings to find your huckleberry is the best way. I'd also recommend keeping a log of your string trials.
There is only so much you can glean from reading forums.
Here on TalkBass, some people will say that GHS Boomers die quickly, whereas others will say that they break in quickly and hold that great broken-in tone for a long time.
Body chemistry plays a part too. Many people on TalkBass say that Dunlop SuperBright steel strings last them for months. I tried them and they went dead on me in a matter of weeks. I guess I just wasn't compatible with those strings.
Great strings for me may not be great string for others. It's like with dating. Sometimes the chemistry is there, sometimes it isn't. Person A and Person B may be great people as individuals but they're not great together.
String GAS is real. I've done the string-pokemon "gotta try 'em all" thing for decades and I still get string GAS. Bass strings might be expensive, but they're still the cheapest mod you can make in that quest to get your tone.
Feel (both texture and slinkiness), tone, and longevity are my criteria for choosing a string. I've learned what I like and what works for me.
There is only so much you can glean from reading forums.
Here on TalkBass, some people will say that GHS Boomers die quickly, whereas others will say that they break in quickly and hold that great broken-in tone for a long time.
Body chemistry plays a part too. Many people on TalkBass say that Dunlop SuperBright steel strings last them for months. I tried them and they went dead on me in a matter of weeks. I guess I just wasn't compatible with those strings.
Great strings for me may not be great string for others. It's like with dating. Sometimes the chemistry is there, sometimes it isn't. Person A and Person B may be great people as individuals but they're not great together.
String GAS is real. I've done the string-pokemon "gotta try 'em all" thing for decades and I still get string GAS. Bass strings might be expensive, but they're still the cheapest mod you can make in that quest to get your tone.
Feel (both texture and slinkiness), tone, and longevity are my criteria for choosing a string. I've learned what I like and what works for me.
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Last summer I experimented with a lot of different strings. My baseline, favorite set has always been Ernie Ball Slinky and DR Pure Blues 45-100. So I tried a bunch of different rounds and flats. Here is a quick summary of what I learned that might help you:
#1. Strings are a VERY subjective subject. Some folks you will speak with are WAY TOO caught up in the details
#2. String gauge makes a significant difference in tone of flat-wound strings. Thicker strings produce a thumpy, dark tone a lot of people associate with flats. Lighter gauge, such as 45-100 for example, produce brighter tones closer to that of nickel round-wounds (i.e. EB Slinkies).
#3. Spending more on a set does not equate to better sounding strings. $30 can buy you an excellent set that will last for years.
#4. Krimping the string before cutting to length will prevent a lot of problems; mainly it keeps the outer wraps from loosening up on you.
#5. Flats do tend to have higher string tension, however that does NOT equal "harder to play." In many cases it makes the string easier to fret as the action can be set lower.
My new favorite flat-wound strings (all are 45-100, also called medium/light):
- Stingray: Ernie Ball Group III flats ($35)
- P-bass: Fender 9050 ($30)
- Music Man Bongo: D'addario Chromes ($40)
Ernie Ball Cobalt flats are nice, but a little too bright for my tastes. Cost around $40
My suggestion would be to start with a set of the Group III, or Chromes, play them for a several months, then decide what you like/don't like about them. THEN, you will have a better idea what suits you best.
Your bass playing adventure will change and grow as you go. Consider this just one more step in that direction
Best of luck!
P.S.
Yes, find a local tech that has a good reputation to install your new strings. Also, ask for them to show you how to string the bass. It's an easy job once you've done it a few times
I'm 70 yrs old and have messed with all kinds of strings. Now, strings are a personal thing and no one size fits all. What works for one person may not fly with another.
IME, these are my picks for strings. #1 TI Flats. #2 D'Addario Chrome Flats 40-95. #3 GHS Pressure Wounds 40-96
You ask.........."How did you land on your favorite stings?"
Tension is important to me. I don't like high tension strings because they can very easily stress out or max out my truss rods. Also, I am a conservative bassist. I don't slap. I don't use a pick. And, I like traditional sounding bass from the 50s, 60s half of the 70s and of course traditional sounding bass with some modern music, especially Americana.
You mention that you like the sound of the EB rounds but the round wound aspect is hard to wrestle with. Perhaps the GHS Pressures which are a little smoother than rounds. Or, the Chromes which are flat wounds but still have some high end and are brighter than most flats.
TI flats have excellent low end and mid range but not much high end. TI's are very expensive but can last up to 10 years. They are the most low tension flats on the market and are very easy to fret notes. (Lower tension than many rounds.)
Good luck on your string quest. From TB, you will get so many suggestions that you'll not really find a definite answer.
IME, these are my picks for strings. #1 TI Flats. #2 D'Addario Chrome Flats 40-95. #3 GHS Pressure Wounds 40-96
You ask.........."How did you land on your favorite stings?"
Tension is important to me. I don't like high tension strings because they can very easily stress out or max out my truss rods. Also, I am a conservative bassist. I don't slap. I don't use a pick. And, I like traditional sounding bass from the 50s, 60s half of the 70s and of course traditional sounding bass with some modern music, especially Americana.
You mention that you like the sound of the EB rounds but the round wound aspect is hard to wrestle with. Perhaps the GHS Pressures which are a little smoother than rounds. Or, the Chromes which are flat wounds but still have some high end and are brighter than most flats.
TI flats have excellent low end and mid range but not much high end. TI's are very expensive but can last up to 10 years. They are the most low tension flats on the market and are very easy to fret notes. (Lower tension than many rounds.)
Good luck on your string quest. From TB, you will get so many suggestions that you'll not really find a definite answer.
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This ! (and I also dislike strings that take ages to break in.)
Buying and trying different sets is really the only way (after doing that, you'll evaluate how good or far those thousand advices you read were).
Just don't expect to find the perfect string for those three basses to be just one type/brand.
That said, OP seems concerned about feel, although inclined to prefer the tone of roundwounds.
Since she's not asking advice on what strings to use, I'll not say GHS Pressurewounds...
(which short scale version is as great as the long scale one)
My two cents: If you like the sound of the EB strings, find out which string brand are. Perhaps you can get the same strings in different gage or low profile rounds? Not sure what the hard to wrestle comment refers to.
I'd also string the Ibanez and/or the Gretsch with the EB strings, to see if you get the sound you are after.
Otherwise, head up to GC and try and try until you get satisfactory strings.
Since your basses are short scale, I would buy one set of LaBella SS flats and try them on each bass. They are my favorites on the three basses I own, one Standard and two Short Scale. Check the recommended length on each of you basses first.
Try flats on the Junior Jet. When I got mine it had rounds and it was clanky. I put on flats and it sounds great now.
I'm happy to see someone mentioned GHS Pressurewounds!
I agree with bassdude51. They are definitely worth considering. I tried them for the first time last year and I've decided to put them on all of my electric basses.
I chose them because they feel great under my fingers, and have (to my ears) a full deep tone that is consistent over time. I typically allow 2 weeks for them to settle in (I play maybe 20 hours a week).
I first put them on a Godin Ultra 4 (piezo + magnetic pickups), next they're going on a Willcox Saber (piezo + optical pickups).
I agree with bassdude51. They are definitely worth considering. I tried them for the first time last year and I've decided to put them on all of my electric basses.
I chose them because they feel great under my fingers, and have (to my ears) a full deep tone that is consistent over time. I typically allow 2 weeks for them to settle in (I play maybe 20 hours a week).
I first put them on a Godin Ultra 4 (piezo + magnetic pickups), next they're going on a Willcox Saber (piezo + optical pickups).
Not so - if you can stand it trawl though "Official" Mikro Bass Club Part 3. Some short scale strings fit, some don't, some fit but a bit of the thickest part of the strings goes round the tuning post which gives some people palpitations, and some fit phyaically but don't intonate well with the factory bridge. I've managed to fit D'addario black tapes, LaBella white tapes and GHS Precision Flats and they all intonated OK. Rotosound RS66S fitted and sounded good to me but the E string didn't intonate (a semitone sharp at the 12th fret with the bridge saddle pulled as far back as it would go without taking the spring out).
And apologies if you're already there, but if not do experiment with each string/bass combination with where you hit/pluck the strings and if you use fingers how hard you pluck. I'm still learning how I can get quite different sounds depending on which part of my fingertips I use and how short I've cut my fingernails.
Thanks, it was purchased new. The G is so thin (physically,) compared to the other basses I have. The open G tunes as a G but is higher than the other basses. The bass has such potential in general but it sounds like i'm playing a washboard or putting a squeegee on a shower door.
